Coalfield-Wartburg Game Preview
By Greg Addington
Coalfield hosts Wartburg on Friday night and will begin their 91st season of football, a season that will usher in great change for a program that has had tremendous stability. The school and community are mourning the passing of brothers Keith and Jared Henry after the conclusion of what was one of the program’s most successful years. The 2020 Jackets equaled the school record of 12 victories before falling to South Pittsburg in last year’s Class A Semifinals.
The Bulldogs are looking to improve in 2021. Coach Kevin Human lost talented quarterback Tyler Davis to graduation but has All-State defensive lineman Perrion Cruz returning along with running backs Ethan Stedam and Konner Carpenter, wide receivers Taner Branstetter and Peyton Hooks and defensive standouts Nick Newport, Samuel McCarty, and Jubal Campbell. Damon Duncan is poised to take over the quarterback role from Davis for 2021 but has a stable of capable athletes at wide out and in the backfield supporting him.
The Yellow Jackets lost six to graduation last year including Seth Lowe, Isaac McKinney, and Dawson Nitzschke who all garnered All-State consideration. Coalfield alumni Benson Napier and Matt Jones have returned to their alma mater and are excited at the returning talent for 2021. Cole Hines, Bryson Ridge and Landon Lowe all return and All-Region First Team honorees Hank Trail, Isaiah Sheldon, Brayden Burgess, Eyan McQueen, Nick Cagley, Hayden Hicks and Canaan Bowling all return. Expect to see Levi Mullins, Coalton Henry and AJ Henry make an impact this year.
This is the first year of the new reclassification period and while Region 2A saw no changes, there is considerable change in Region 2AA which will affect the Bulldogs. The positive move for Wartburg, Rockwood and Oneida is that the four-time defending region champions in Meigs County will now be playing in Region 3AA in 2021. On the minus side, Cumberland Gap has also moved out of the region and both teams were replaced by strong programs in York Institute and Monterey.
The team that minimizes mistakes and penalties and maximizes opportunities to reach the end zone will prevail on Friday night, and expect a typical Coalfield/Wartburg showdown in anything but a typical year for both programs. The Bulldogs are wanting to show progress and improvement in what will be Head Coach Kevin Human’s fifth season in the driver’s seat at Wartburg. Meanwhile Coalfield is wanting to pick up on the football field where the success of 2020 left off and show the state that Coalfield football will continue to be a force to reckon with in the Class A landscape.